Fleet Driver Training

Transcription

1 Fleet Driver Training Pete Mitchell Senior Manager, Account Development The CEI Group, Inc.

2 Part 1 Why is Driver Training Important? Protecting your drivers from serious injury and fatalities Reducing fleet costs to your organization Avoiding Negligent Entrustment

3 US Highways are a dangerous place to drive The US traffic fatality rate: 4 th worst in the developed world* US: 13.9 deaths per 100,000 population Worse than: Germany (6.0) Italy (8.5) Canada (8.8) Spain (9.3) Portugal (10.4) Turkey (13.4) Chile (13.7) * Source: Global Status Report on Road Safety, World Health Organization, 2009

4 The Fleet Safety Challenge Fleet accident frequency: 6X the general driving public s NHTSA*: 620,000 fleet vehicle accidents per year Fleet accident rates: Average is 20 percent Why? Fleet drivers log more miles (20-25,000 per year vs ,000) *Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

5 The Fleet Safety Challenge (continued) Motor vehicle accidents: the leading cause of workplace fatalities : 1,298 workers per year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) Drivers have the highest death rate by occupation: >70 percent of all workplace deaths in 2010

6 The Fleet Safety Challenge (continued)

7 The Fleet Safety Challenge (continued)

8 Accidents Are Expensive AAA (2011): accidents cost Americans $299 billion a year $1,500 a year per person Three times the $97.7 billion cost of traffic congestion NETS* (2003): They cost business $60 billion a year Physical damage is just one part of the cost Other costs: medical care, worker s compensation, lost productivity, liability *Source: Network of Employers for Traffic Safety

9 Avoiding Negligent Entrustment Suits and Verdicts Definition: 1. To charge someone with a trust or duty in an inattentive or careless fashion or without completing required process steps. 2. In fleet operations, a case of Negligent entrustment may arise when an organization allows an employee to use a vehicle knowing or having reason to know, that use of the vehicle by such an employee creates a risk and harm to others - DUIs - Suspended licenses - History of frequent violations and accidents

10 Avoiding Negligent Entrustment Suits and Verdicts (continued) Although the driver s own negligence is the primary cause of the accident the main focus of a lawsuit will be: 1. An organization s policies 2. An organization s actual processes 3. Do the organization s policies and processes match?

11 Avoiding Negligent Entrustment Suits and Verdicts (continued) Court punitive awards in the millions 2007: Florida company, $11 million settlement* 2004: Georgia company, $2.75 million jury award** 2004: Texas company, $3.5 million settlement** * Source: Risk Management Magazine * Source Risk & Insurance Online

12 Part 2: How to include Driver Training into your Fleet Program Causes of Accidents Driver training as a stand alone program work? Driving Training as part of a comprehensive fleet safety program

13 Causes of Motor Vehicle Accidents It s more driver error than lack of knowledge Inattention/Distraction (80 percent of all accidents)* Poor judgment Carelessness, bad habits Diminished skills (e.g., with age, disability) * Source: National Highway Traffic Administration, 2010 NAFA: 50 percent of all fleet accidents are preventable

14 Does Training Alone Reduce Accidents? Studies suggest that training alone is not enough NHTSA (2010)*: Despite the widespread appeal of [teenager] driver education, scientific evaluations indicate that it does not produce safer drivers [T]he notion that a traditional driver education course by itself can produce safer drivers is optimistic. Cochrane Collaboration (2008): A review of 25 experienced driver training programs found that relying on driver training alone is not effective in preventing road traffic injuries or crashes. *Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

15 Does Training Alone Reduce Accidents? (continued) Why is training alone not enough? Training heightens safe driving awareness for a length of time but it wears off without regular reinforcement Old habits are hard to break and after training wears off drivers naturally return to previous behaviors

16 The Key: Focus on Changing Fleet Driver Behavior Create and maintain a safety culture Implement a comprehensive fleet safety program

17 Key Components of a Safety culture Safety understood as a way of doing business, not an afterthought Driven from the top: CEO, COO priority Actively supported at all levels of management Driving record (MVR) part of regular employee reviews Frequent communications that market safety

18 Key Components of an Effective Fleet Safety Program Have a new hire process it starts here: In the new hire process: don t hire high-risk drivers Have a driver recruiting and section process Evaluation of a new hire s MVR and adherence to acceptable MVR standards Have an evaluation and orientation New hire training

19 Key Components of an Effective Fleet Safety Program Use driver Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs) To track fleet driver behavior Collect MVRs at least twice a year Create a driver risk scoring system based on: MVR Violations Accidents Other safety data (e.g., safety policy violations, camera and toll violations, How s My Driving, etc.)

20 Key Components of an Effective Fleet Safety Program (continued) Define graduated driver risk score thresholds that trigger consequences Hold drivers accountable, with direct supervisor involvement, when they reach new risk levels Make consequences timely: as soon as possible Enforce the policy consistently for all drivers Require driver training As a consequence (remedial training) Proactively refreshers, supports the safety culture

21 Driver Safety Training is Valuable and Important It is a key component in a comprehensive safety program Training is needed to help reduce and sustain fleet accident rate reductions Case studies showing significant reductions Driver comments show that learning points from training can prevent an accident.